BC Forest Service Links & Resources

BCFS Historical Films and Videos

These productions are a collection of historical films and videos that were digitized as part of the celebration of the centenary of the BC Forest Service in 2012. Digitization was done through a grant from the University of British Columbia Ike Barber Learning Centre and funding from the BC Forest Service Centenary Society.

These productions are presented by the BC Forest Service for educational and historical reference purposes only. They represent the public policies, activities, technology and understanding of natural resource management at the date they were produced. It is hoped that by sharing these historical perspectives, we can better understand the evolution in technology and knowledge that the BC Forest Service has experienced since 1912.

Accept the Challenge
– A historical look at the many types of careers to be found in the BC Forest Service in the early 1990's. This short 4 min 30 second program was produced for presentation at job fairs to encourage students to consider working for the BCFS. It is repeated several times into a 29 minute show.

All Things Considered
– An historical look at the many factors that need to be considered when making integrated forest management decisions.

Black and Green
– The role of prescribed fire for forest and range management, 1983.

Bridging the Nass
– An historical look at the building of the Nass River bridge by the Forest Service's Engineering Division.

Change of Pace
– An historical look at the early days of the forest industry in BC compared to the techniques and technology of the late 1960's.

Changing the Way We Manage Our Forests
– An historical look at the changes the BC Forest Service has experienced over the ten decades. An un-narrated video montage of images showing the early years compared to the mid-1990's.

Chewers of Wood
– Forest insect management in the late 1970's. Mountain Pine Beetle outbreak in the Kootenay area is documented.

Clearing the Peace
– An historical look at the engineering program's clearing of the Peace River dam pondage area under what is now Williston Lake.

Cool Roots
– An historical look at a training film about the proper care and handling of tree seedlings.

Hit Hard, Hit Fast (1979 Version)
– An historical look at the development of the helicopter rapel wildfire fighting teams. (This video was re-done under the same title in 1988)

Hit Hard, Hit Fast (1988 Version)
– Wildfire management and the strategy of using a decisive and swift response by highly trained firefighters. Included is a profile of the early rapattack crews. (This video was originally produced in 1979 and this version was re-done in 1988 and released under the same title)

Knapweed: Seeds Of Destruction
– The invasive range plant knapweed and the options pursued for controlling it - 1987. Produced in cooperation with the BC Cattlemen's Association and the Province of BC.

Managing the Data
– Management of data in 1988 that supports silvicultural program decisions to ensure reforestation of areas lost to logging, fire or insects.

Water Transport of Wood in British Columbia
– An historical look at the methods used to transport logs by water including different types of transport including the Davis raft and self-dumping log barges. Also covers the reduction of using interior waterways.

Web Pages

Aleza Lake Research Forest
– The Aleza Lake Research Forest is a 9000 ha university-based outdoor research facility and working forest 60 km east of Prince George, BC . The mandate of the Research Forest is to provide research and education facilities and opportunities to the University of Northern BC, the University of BC faculties or institutes, other universities, government agencies, private sector research, schools and other educational groups with regards to ecosystem and resource management studies within the wet sub-boreal spruce biogeoclimatic zone. Contact: Kathleen Olson, Office and Outreach Administrator Aleza Lake Research Forest, 250-960-6339, olson@unbc.ca

B.C. Forest Service Celebrates 100 Years of Excellence
– One hundred years ago today, the Province created the first government agency to preserve B.C.'s forests through forest fire prevention, use of timber management areas, tree planting and the diversification of tree-growing.

BC Forest Discovery Centre
– this BC Forest Service Museum, which was stored in large wooden cases for years, finally found a permanent home at the BC Forest Disovery Centre in Duncan. To accommodate most of the collection, the former Ranger Station that sat just south of the Cowichan River on the Island Highway and its four-bay garage were physically moved to the then BC Forest Museum at the corner of the Island Highway and Drinkwater Road. Like most museums, the majority of the collection is stored and those artifacts and ephemera suitable for a Ranger Station now adorn that building. For more information about the BC Forest Discovery Centre, visit their web page.

BC Forest History Association
– Forest History Newsletters listing.The association encourages the collection, preservation, cataloguing, and use of historical material related to the conservation, management, and utilization of the forests of the province.

BC Forest Service Turns 100
– The local forest district celebrated 100 years of the B.C. Forest Service with a cake, story telling and more at the Columbia District office. Revelstoke Times Review.

BC Named "Forest Capital of Canada"
– The Province of British Columbia has been named “Forest Capital of Canada” for the year 2012 by the Canadian Forestry Association (CFA) in honour of the 100th anniversary of the BC Forest Service (The Working Forest Newspaper)

Cowichan Valley Forest History
– Stories of the men and women of the Cowichan Valley Forest Industry; maps of areas of importance; a photo archive that includes a section of old advertisements that pertain to the forest industry of those times; a section of old camp recipes; and plenty of other forestry-related materials.

Forest Capital
– Established in 1979, the Forest Capital of Canada program focuses on the valuable role forests play in the socio-economic and environmental health of our communities – past, present and future.

Forest History Association of British Columbia
– This association encourages the collection, preservation, cataloguing, and use of historical material related to the conservation, management, and utilization of the forests of the province.

Good Timber 2012 Tour
– A rollicking musical revue celebrating a time when loggers climbed trees. Based on the logger poetry of Robert E. Swanson, the Bard of the Woods, this amazingly talented ensemble has created a show of songs and stories played against a multimedia backdrop of rarely-seen archival imagery.

Salmon Arm Museum
– When the announcement of the closure of the FS office in Salmon Arm came out in 2002, the staff decided to do something to commemorate the history of the FS in the area. There was an old fire look-out on Queest Mtn which was scheduled for dismantling. The staff went up and dismantled the building, transported it to a new location and spent several months painting, nailing and reconstructing the look-out. The Queest look-out now resides at the Haney Heritage museum site in Salmon Arm. Any artifacts they had in the office were donated to the museum and are on display in the look-out. The artifacts donated include: a range finder, old uniforms, some old pamphlets, a copy of a diary of a look-out employee supplied by Glen Allen of Kamloops, steel chain, air photos, and maps.

Timeline history of BC Forest Service
– Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Chief Foresters and name changes of the B.C. departments and ministries (which have contained the Forest Service).

Papers

"100 years of collaboration between the BCFS & CFS" Theme Paper
– The British Columbia Forest Service (BCFS) and the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) have a long history of collaboration across a wide range of functions and topics. The nature of the various projects and initiatives undertaken over the years reflect the evolving nature of forest management, and the relative strengths of the CFS and BCFS have contributed to successful outcomes in many collaborative initiatives.

"Our Logs' Story from Truck to Product"
– To get the greatest value from every tree, we need to understand the current and historical use of logs, the supply and demand dynamics of different products, and the supply of wood fibre for potential new uses. Paper by C.C. Dymond

"Statutes and Legislation Governing the BCFS" Theme Paper
– This document is a high-level summary of legislation governing the business of the Forest Service from 1912 to 2011. Ralph Archibald has attempted to review all statutes, and amendments to statutes, introduced by the Minister responsible for the Forest Service during this period and to identify the significant policy shifts.

"Events: Legislation, 1842-1979"
– an introduction to Forest Service history to clarify the roles played by individuals and the reasons for decisions which have influenced the direction of the development of the Forest Service and its place in the general history of the province. BC MFR Library Call #: 634.909711 BCMF INF 1986 MR 4.

History of the Chief Forester Position
– Ex BCFS Chief Foresters, Larry Pedersen and Jim Snetsinger, gave this presentation to describe the history of this key position in the Forest Service but also key for all forest management in BC.

ForesTalk Resource Magazine
– From 1973 to 1983 the BC Forest Service published a quarterly magazine called ForesTalk. The magazine highlighted current forest issues and provided multiple perspectives on how they should be managed. ForesTalk was highly regarded for its balanced approach at a time when environmental and economic considerations where highly polarized.

Green Timbers: Surrey's Urban Forest Park
– A 400-page book that describes this forest's colourful history. With plenty of references to accompany such topics of interest as the first forest nursery and, for a time, the only one in BC; the province's first forest ranger school; logging of the old-growth timber by King-Farris Lumber Company; descriptions of trails, plants and animals; building of the lake; this book contains much more including what you can do to keep a forest in an urban setting. Authors: Pam and Duane Duff

Under These Waters: Williston Lake: Before it Was
– An abbreviated account of Norm Unrau's involvement in a particularly exciting adventure in the mid sixties. For three years his work was in the forest clearing end of the project called “Peace River Pondage”.

Videos

Against the Tide
– A 16-minute documentary video which combines old and new footage to tell the stories of the people who once worked on the vessels of the B.C. Forest Service. Two part video on our YouTube channel.

Centenary Celebration Video
– The BC Forest Service celebrated its 100th birthday at the Parliament Buildings in Victoria, BC on February 27, 2012.